Revisiting the Archive: Episode 12: Bayard Rustin

Making Gay History stands with the countless Americans protesting systemic racism and the deaths of black and brown people at the hands of the police. And we draw inspiration from civil rights heroes like Bayard Rustin, an out and proud black gay man who dedicated his life to fighting injustice.Visit our Season Four episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources.

Revisiting the Archive: Episode 11: Larry Kramer

June 25, 1935 - May 27, 2020. In the early ’80s, author and playwright Larry Kramer was one of the first people to sound the alarm about AIDS. He became one of the loudest voices in the fight against the epidemic, calling an indifferent world to account.Visit our Season Three episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources.

Revisiting the Archive: Episode 10: Perry Watkins

When Perry Watkins was drafted in 1968, he assumed the Army would reject him for being gay. They didn’t. When they got rid of him after 15 years of service, he fought back. As we face the systemic inequalities Covid-19 has once again laid bare, an enraging tale of prejudice, triumph, and tragedy.Visit our Season Three episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources.

Revisiting the Archive: Episode 9: Joyce Hunter

In 1939 Joyce Hunter was born into a world so hostile it’s a wonder she wasn’t crushed. Instead, the challenges and brutality she faced proved to be the launchpad for an expansive life of pioneering activism and accomplishment. A guiding light in tough times.Visit our Season Two episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources.

Revisiting the Archive: Episode 8: Morris Foote

In late 1955, the police of Boise, Idaho, started a sweeping investigation into an alleged “homosexual underground.” Fearing arrest, Morris Foote fled town, not to return till 20 years later. A story of Pride from the U.S. heartland to remind us that what unites us transcends red/blue state divides.Visit our Season Two episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources.

Revisiting the Archive: Episode 7: Ellen DeGeneres

Today, Ellen DeGeneres needs no introduction. But as she explained in a 2001 MGH interview, her very public 1997 coming out took a dramatic professional and personal toll. When life goes off the rails, there’s no knowing what the future holds. We’re challenged to push ahead to fight for better days.Visit our Season Three episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources.

Customer Reviews

Deserves a Pulitzer

Eric Marcus and his colleagues deserve a PulitzerPrize in History for this work. As listenable as it is important.

Dominican Associate David
, 05/09/2020

Great meeting our founders

I love listening to these podcasts. Meeting our ancestors in these interviews is like a great family reunion of relatives, where you discover that you came from truly amazing people.

kmk1029878
, 04/18/2020

Wonderful

These interviews, with many people I was unfamiliar with, are treasures and I’m so glad they were saved.

The show structure is simple: an introduction so the listener understands the subjects role in gay history and then about 15 minutes of the interview. I like that the interviewer mostly stays out of the way of his subjects and lets us hear them in their own words.